ISLAMABAD  -  President Dr Arif Alvi has said that Pakistan wants to expand bilateral ties with the Philippines, Iran, and Rwanda in the fields of trade, economy, invest­ment, culture, and people-to-people contacts. 

The President made these remarks while talking to the Ambassadors-designate of Philippines, Iran, and the non-resident High-Commissioner-desig­nate of Rwanda, who separately presented their diplomatic credentials to the President at Ai­wan-e-Sadr, Thursday. 

Talking to the Ambassador-designate of the Phil­ippines, Ms Maria Agnes M. Cervantes, the Presi­dent said that Pakistan was keen to expand bilat­eral relations with the Philippines across all areas of cooperation and expressed the need to explore new avenues of cooperation to further diversify bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

Speaking to the Iranian Ambassador-desig­nate to Pakistan, Dr Reza Amiri Moghaddam, the President highlighted the need to promote economic engagement and mutually beneficial economic exchanges between the two countries through the established institutional mecha­nisms and private-sector collaborations. He called for further expanding economic ties by strengthening the existing institutional mech­anisms, besides making the Border Sustenance Marketplaces functional.

Talking to the High Commissioner-designate of Rwanda to Pakistan, Mr James Kimonyo, the Pres­ident emphasized the need to further strength­en trade and economic relations, adding that the business communities of the two countries need­ed to exchange visits to boost bilateral trade. 

He remarked that Rwandan businessmen should explore the Pakistani market, especially for the import of rice, textile products, pharmaceuticals, surgical instruments, and sports goods.